Yerevan /Mediamax/. Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan commented on the talks held in Moscow on October 9, which ended early in the morning today with the signing of a trilateral statement.

In an interview with the Armenian Public TV, he described the talks as “extremely complicated”.

The Minister said that it is important for the Armenian side “to put an end to this aggression, which is different by the fact that Azerbaijan acted with the support of Turkey and international terrorist groups.”

“The situation in the region remains quite fragile. We need to reach ceasefire and overcome this serious challenge. Without putting an end to this situation, it is pointless to talk about any progress,” Zohrab Mnatsakanyan emphasized.

He highlighted the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship remains the only internationally recognized format and “no other force, Turkey in particular, can play a role in the settlement process.”

The Minister said that this aggression once again proved the concerns of the Armenian side about the physical security of the people of Artsakh.

“Issues of primary security and recognition and realization of the right of self-determination of our compatriots living in Artsakh have been and remain priority for us. Our compatriots in Artsakh must live freely, control their own destiny as a unit that will be recognized by everyone as an independent state,” Mnatsakanyan told Public TV.

He pointed out that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries have played in important role since the very first day of the aggression. The Foreign Minister recalled the joint statements that have been adopted at the level of presidents and foreign ministers of Russia, United States and France.

“However, I must specifically emphasize the efforts of Russia and personally President Putin. In fact, our work today was called to consolidate the agreements reached by the Russian President during his contacts with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

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After almost 11 hours of negotiations, on October 10 early in the morning, foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan issued a joint statement which the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov has read out loud.

The document particularly reads:

“In response to the address of the President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, in line with the agreements of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the parties have agreed on the following steps:

1. A ceasefire is announced starting from 12:00 on 10 October 2020 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of war prisoners and other detained persons and bodies of the killed, with the mediation and in line with the criteria of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

2. Concrete parameters of the ceasefire regime will be coordinated additionally.

3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group CO-Chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of the settlement, start substantive negotiations with the aim of reaching a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.

4. The parties confirm the invariability of the format of the negotiation process.”